Tuesday, October 20, 2015

ARC Review: Prisoner of Love by Cathy Skendrovich

Prisoner of Love is an action packed novel with lots of twists and turns, suspense and romance. It's an easy read which I think most fans of this sub-genre will find enjoyable.

Lucy is a serial loser magnate who encounters escaped prisoner "Nicky Costas" on her way to a weekend getaway in the mountains. It turns out that Nicky is really Jake, an undercover police officer who is stuck between a rock and very hard place. Jake is on the run from the criminal and the law and despite their rocky beginning, Lucy is Jake's only hope for help getting out of his mess.

I like Lucy and Jake together but I can't say I was a fan of Lucy on her own. The author tries to depict Lucy as being brave but a lot of times her actions come across as very...ill conceived. For example, Jake kidnaps Lucy out of necessity. As he promises, he lets her go. Now one would think that a kidnap victim would be excessively cautious in the future but not Lucy. The author keeps telling us Lucy is careful and paranoid but her actions say something totally different. Lucy also suffers from some self esteem issues. That's ok and pretty realistic but it can be hard to hear a character down on themselves.

What I really liked was how Jake helped Lucy to see the best in herself. The relationship wasn't one sided though because in turn, Lucy believed in Jake and worked with him to clear his name. Once the two admit their feelings for one another, their relationship has a really sweet and caring flavor that I love. You will want to see good things happen for Lucy because despite her character flaws she has a really good heart. The same goes for Jake, the way he cares for Lucy alone is enough to make you root for him. There are some things in this book that might strain the bounds of plausibility but it's still a fun read that I recommend.